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- Title
Gravity Gradiometry With GRACE Space Missions: New Opportunities for the Geosciences.
- Authors
Peidou, A.; Pagiatakis, S.
- Abstract
A new paradigm views the recently launched Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) follow‐on mission as a gradiometer system, outside the mission's design concept, promising potentially major implications in geosciences. We develop an innovative and straightforward concept, the "GRACE gradiometer mode," to process future GRACE follow‐on measurements to derive three‐dimensional gravitational gradients. Using positions, accelerations, and attitude measurements from the identical predecessor mission GRACE, we generate common and differential accelerations. We validate GRACE differential accelerations using Gravity field and steady‐state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) mission gradiometer measurements and we demonstrate an important and promising agreement between GRACE and GOCE. Consequently, we estimate gravitational gradients in full and we confirm their ability to detect geophysical signals over three example regions, namely, the Himalayas, Indonesia, and Canada. Coherence analysis between GOCE and GRACE gradients reveals a strong match that reaches up to 80%. GRACE gradiometer mode gradients are also compared with GRACE level 2‐ derived gradients, and results show that the new method captures smaller spatial‐scale signals than GOCE with the trade‐off being at higher noise level. We argue that future enhancements of the proposed proof‐of‐concept method will expand and enhance the GRACE follow‐on objectives that will lead to new insights, discoveries, and applications in the Earth system and the geosciences. Plain Language Summary: A new concept views the twin satellites of the recently launched Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) follow‐on gravity space mission (GRACE‐FO) as a system that can be transitioned into a three‐dimensional gradiometer, an unprecedented possibility that is well outside the mission's design concept and with potentially major implications and discoveries in geosciences. We developed a new methodology, namely, the GRACE gradiometer mode, and we derived gravitational gradients using GRACE level 1b data as proxy to GRACE‐FO. The GRACE gradiometer mode gradients are in good agreement with the gravitational gradients measured directly by Gravity field and steady‐state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE), a dedicated low Earth orbiter gravity gradiometer space mission demised in late 2013. Considering the momentum with GRACE‐FO already providing data, we aim to process the new data immediately, making use of the GRACE gradiometer mode methodology. The newly proposed method applied to the GRACE‐FO data will require the use of the high‐frequency measurements (i.e., 10 Hz) released very recently, for more accurate estimation of the gravitational gradients that will enhance the geoscience applications. Key Points: An unprecedented new GRACE data processing methodology is developed that allows GRACE to be used as a gradiometer (virtual GOCE)GRACE‐GM can provide gravitational gradients in a wider spectrum (multiresolution) than GOCE and free from stripesTests in various geodynamically active regions around the globe show the similarity of the GRACE gradients to those of GOCE
- Subjects
GRAVIMETERS (Geophysical instruments); GEOPHYSICAL instruments; GEOLOGY; METHODOLOGY; EARTH sciences; SPACE sciences
- Publication
Journal of Geophysical Research. Solid Earth, 2019, Vol 124, Issue 8, p9130
- ISSN
2169-9313
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1029/2018JB016382